Now available on Blu-ray and DVD is the film The Watch, staring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Johna Hill.
The Watch was originally called Neighborhood Watch. I was going to be released around the same time that young boy was killed by a member of a neighborhood watch group. Out of respect for the situation the movie’s release date was pushed back.
The Watch is about a man name Evan (Stiller). He lives in a small town in Ohio which is pretty much “picture perfect”. Evan is very active in the community. He runs various clubs and groups and is happy to go out of his way to help a neighbor. He is also a manager at a local Costco.
One night in his store the night watchman was killed. There were no suspects. Evan, wanting to protect the community from a vicious killer, forms a neighborhood watch group. The only people that show up are Bob, Franklin and Jamarcus.
Bob (Vaughn) is married but still acts like a “frat boy”. He has a teenager daughter name Chelsea. Like any other protective dad, Bob is upset with the idea that Chelsea has a boyfriend. He will do anything in his power to keep the teens apart.
Franklin (Hill) is the youngest of the group. He’s a “wannabe” Police Officer who is out to prove himself.
Jamarcus is Brittish and recently divorced. To coin a phrase he’s a “cool cat”.
The watch group go around town not only looking to prevent crime, but also to solve the murder of the Costco night guard.
One night the group find a mysterious object, an orb that shoots lasers. The guys take the orb around town and like a group of teenage boys they shoot the lasers around town and blow things up. They think it’s funny.
The mysterious orb leads the men to believe there are aliens among them. Their suspicions are true when they actually find an alien and kill it. Just like they did with the laser, the men find it funny to take pictures of themselves with the alien in “compromising positions”.
Everything seems to lead back to Costco. Are there really aliens? Could they be disguised as citizens of Glenview, Ohio? Can the guys from the watch group figure out this mystery before more people perish? To find out you need to pick up a copy of The Watch, now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download.
This movie was nothing like I had expected it to be. I thought it was going to be about a legitimate neighborhood watch group protecting people from actual crimes – not chasing aliens. It was kind of a Men in Black meets a neighborhood watch sort of thing. It was nothing like I thought it would be.
This is NOT a family friend film. It’s rated R, and for good reason. My kids were upset that I wouldn’t let them see it. They like Ben Stiller and think Jonah Hill is funny too. Sometimes movies are rated R due to violence and bad language (my kids hear worse language at school, sad to say). This movie went above and beyond that. Not only was there a lot of bad language but also a lot of sexual references. There is no way I’d let my kids see this film.
I am not sure if this was suppose to be a comedy or a drama (or a “Dramedy” – part drama, part comedy). My a sprinkling of Sci-Fi mixed in. I’m left scratching my head because I’m not sure what genre the movie makers were going for with this film.
It’s not often that I say this about a movie that I review, but I really wasn’t overly impressed with The Watch. I really didn’t find it at all funny. My husband laughed twice to my recollection. Even he said that this movie wasn’t good. On the flip side, we both thought the movie Super Bad was literally super bad. We felt it was one of the worst movies ever made. However friends of ours thought it was the funniest movie ever. So it’s really just a matter of opinion. Like my mom used to say “one man’s meat is another man’s poison“. Just because I didn’t care for The Watch doesn’t mean that someone else won’t think it’s the funniest movie ever. Maybe my idea of humor is different. I didn’t find either of the Hangover movies funny either, yet they did well in theaters. I find British comedies like Are You Being Served? a riot and I’ll laugh my head off, yet my husband doesn’t find any of it funny. Everyone is different.
There are some bonus features worth mentioning. The Outrageous Gag Reel was funny. I did laugh at that. 🙂 Ther feature Casting the Alien (the aliens are pretty creepy looking) and Alien Invader and You were entertaining to watch too. I love to see what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to making a film.
Look for The Watch on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital download where ever movies are sold.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced in any way.